highway construction

The off-ramp overpass that fell onto the southbound lanes of I-75 Monday night did not cause a lot of damage to the highway.

That doesn't surprise Andrew Hermann, past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, who has been following the story. But he says the fact that the span did fall was surprising.

“Generally, they have demolition plans where they try to take into account all the possibilities as they’re taking down a bridge, to do it safely," Hermann said. "So it was very surprising to hear that it collapsed."

Update 1/20/15 2:51 p.m.: ODOT says the field investigation has concluded, and the clean up operations have started. In a press release, ODOT says debris removal is expected to take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours. After that, inspectors will look at the southbound lanes of I-75 to see if any repairs are needed.

Update 01/20/15, 12:45 p.m.: The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the City of Cincinnati have released new information about Monday night's overpass collapse on southbound I-75.

Get ready for more road work this weekend in northern Kentucky, but this time it won’t be on southbound 471.

Starting Friday evening at 8 o’clock, westbound 275 will be reduced to a single lane near the interchange with 471. The half mile closure will allow crews to restore the normal traffic configuration on that part of the interstate. The work is expected to be complete by Sunday morning.

It could be a slow go for drivers on Southbound 471 in Northern Kentucky this weekend as crews get ready for Phase II of this summer's reconstruction project. Officials are suggesting you find an alternate route.

Starting at seven Friday evening and continuing through Monday morning, traffic will be reduced to one lane between Kentucky 8 and US 27 in Highland Heights.

Workers will be installing a temporary concrete barrier wall and pavement markings.

Orange barrels and lane shifts are now in place on southbound 471 as a major reconstruction project gets started. That's likely to slow the evening commute for drivers leaving downtown Cincinnati for northern Kentucky and the east side.

But those delays will likely grow even longer in July when work starts on repairing the deck of the Daniel Carter Beard, or Big Mac, Bridge.

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokeswoman Nancy Wood says construction work is set to begin on April 12th.

It's a continuation of a project started last year, when the northbound side of the interstate was rebuilt.

Contractors will be working to remove deteriorated concrete from three lanes, shoulders and all exit and entrance ramps. It also involves repairing and replacing the surfaces on bridge decks including the Daniel Carter Beard, or Big Mac bridge.